His daughter's love
by FUNBUMGUM
Summary: He died to save his family and to protect both Orb and Zaft, only to be discovered by his daughter who learns that the one year of her family's mourning wasn't needed at all. How does Emily Yamato bring her father to show himself to the world, how far will she go to bringing him back? Will all her attempts be in vain? Or will she find a scary secret that will make her not believe?
1. Chapter 1: Faithful Encounter

Hi, I am Emily Yamato, I am 18 years old and I am a senior student; I belong to the 'Great' Yamato household. I am the eldest in my family, my brother Kenneth is 17 and my sister Abby just turned 15. My mom is lacus Clyne the Supreme Chairwoman of the PLANTS, my dad always said that I looked exactly like her and I don't blame him. And finally my daddy Kira Yamato was the Head of ZAFT, the ZAFT Commander.

Exactly one year ago today, my dad died protecting Orb during an invasion by the Atlantic Federation. That battle alone is what many consider "The Third bloody Valentine" that battle brought down most of Orbs and ZAFT's soldiers one of them was my dad... He died when he was 37. So today I'm going down to Orb to visit where my dad rests, sometimes deep down I believe that he is still alive because they never found his body but sometimes others tell me otherwise. Never the less I am going to visit him today because today. This is my story.

I walked into the terminal like I usually did every second Saturday, and as usual I was greeted by my escort "Good Morning Ms. Yamato, are you ready to go?" I nodded and he led me to the Yamato shuttle where I waited until they gave us the all clear to head down to Orb. I walked to where I usually sat near the back and scooted over taking the window seat like a usually did. I would always go with Abby down to Orb but today she had a sleepover with one of her friends.

Sadly we had to wait 5 minutes until we could even take off, so I waited and placed my elbow against the window frame and stared out at the people who walked through the terminal, my mind raced with memories of when my dad and I strolled through the terminal. That alone was enough to spark that memory of the time I watched my dad die to save us.

_We ran and ran until we made it to the loading dock, my dad yelled "Hurry get it!" and started pushing us into the shuttle, I remember the conversation that he had with Uncle Athrun. "Kira come on!" he reached out and tried to grabbed for his sleeve by my dad simply pulled himself away from his grasp "Make sure you guys get out safely"_

_He turned and faced Kenneth who was crying like the baby he was, he yelled "Remember what I told you" my brother only nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes, then he turned to my mom, Abby and I, we watched him mouth "I love you" before he gave one last push forcing us all inside. I watched him close the door behind him as he looked on from the other side._

_I forced myself onto the glass, I screamed, cried and yelled, I begged him through the glass to not go, to stay and come with us. My dad placed his forehead on the glass and I heard him say "I'm sorry, daddy's got to break a promise" an explosion went off in the background and my father flinched but stayed firm like always, I watched as a hand reached behind him and turned him around; I watched my dad talk to him before he let out a sigh._

_He turned back to me and yelled "I love you" I simply shook my head violently I yelled "Please don't leave me!" Suddenly I heard a very loud bang, I looked up and say a gust of air hit my dad but he still held firm, he violently started banging on the side of the shuttle and it slowly started to take off. I looked at my father as he started running, I started banging on the glass trying to get his attention I yelled "I love you daddy!" my dad turned towards me and smiled "I love you too" he mouthed back before he disappeared inside. Never did I ever think that this was the last time I would see him, never did I know that "I love you" would be my last words to him, never did I know that I would never get to feel his warm embrace again._

_I felt nasty inside, the shuttle took off and behind us everyone has a clear view of the Defense Headquarters we were just in. I dropped to my knees and cried my heart out, I felt arms wrap around me and instantly I hugged back, yelling "Daddy please don't leave me!" my mom stroked my head as she too cried "Don't worry everything will be alright" And suddenly the unthinkable happened, the building which my father was in blew up, outside was my dad's Strike Freedom it's cockpit opened as it waited for its pilot to return._

_Everyone stood quiet, every military personnel that were on the shuttle took off their hats in sorrow, and seeing that sight made something inside me snap. I hugged my mom as tightly as I could my face digging into her chest as I cried uncontrollably crying the words "Why daddy! Why!" my brother dropped to the floor as he covered his head with his hands as he tried to hold back the tears. My sister Abby did the something I did, Auntie Cagalli held her tightly as she too wept. My mom didn't sleep well after this, she was depressed and couldn't sleep, she wouldn't eat she seemed completely lost, Auntie Cagalli and grandma Caridad tried to comfort her to no avail._

_Her depression became worse, when they 'confirmed' that my dad died but they couldn't find his body. When it came to the funeral my mom just lost it, not being able to bury her own husband hurt her so much. She cried every day for the next month until she finally showed improvement. Eventually she got back to work no one dared mention my father because they knew she would do, and no one mentioned it to me, my brother, or Abby because they knew we watched our dad die and they knew we wouldn't take it either"_

I closed my eyes as tears started to flow from them, I quickly wiped them away, "Why did you have to go?"

I sat in the shuttle for a good 15 minutes before we finally got down to Orb, when I disembarked I was escorted to my awaiting car before they drove me to the cemetery. When I got to the cemetery I got out of the car and walked inside, I walked to my dad's resting place and placed the flowers I bought from the airport onto the gravestone. I sat down as I started fiddling with my fingers "It's been hard dad, we all wouldn't stop crying especially mom. You'll be missing everything" I lowered my head even the thought of not having a father to speak to really hurt, I stayed silent for a bit not knowing if I should continue because I knew I told him enough; my dad always liked it when we were straight to the point.

I stood up and let out one big sigh, I turned around and saw a man who was dressed in an unusual attire, he wore army boots, dark green cargo pants, he also had a green vest of some kind, covering his body was a very long torn up black jacket, he wore black gloves the finger tips were cut off exposing his skin to the air, and finally he wore a black 'cowboy like' hat that covered his face. I watched him walk up to the gravestone, he knelt down and placed something on the grave. I stared over his shoulder and my eyes widened at the thing he put down.

"Seems like these people missed this" I stared at the thing that the person placed on the floor; it was a piece of my father's uniform jacket "How did you?" I said hesitantly to him, I saw him smile "He must have been a good father?" How did he know that I was visiting my father, my mind spun a full 360 degrees as I wondered, all I did was nod. I saw him smirk again "I take your silence is a yes" I watched him rise to his feet; he turned to face me his face still covered by his hat "I also presume that your family is doing fine?" I nodded and the last question sent shivers up my spine. "Did they ever find his body?" I took a deep breath and said "No" but I noticed the hesitance in my response.

That voice... I recognized the voice but I couldn't quite pin down where I heard the voice before. "Aw that sucks, sorry for bothering you" He turned and started walking away, and that's when I saw it. I turned and ran towards that figure, I chased after him- I chased him with tears rolling down my face. I tugged on his jacket causing him to flinch, I wrapped my arms around his waist hugging him tightly I buried my face into his back and I stayed like that. I felt him place his hands on mine and slowly removed my arms from his waist. I watched him turn around and slowly wrap his arms around me drawing me close, I placed my arms back around his waist and buried my face into his chest and I cried. "Long time no see" he said quietly. I closed my eyes and whispered "I missed you daddy"

During my time of need, my mind spun; I started asking questions but I never did blurt them out because I wanted to enjoy this moment. This moment was one thing I would truly treasure for the rest of my life. I felt my dad sigh as he uttered the words "I'm sorry pumpkin but I need to go" I tightened my grip, "Please don't leave I don't want to be alone" I whispered as tears started falling from my cheeks. He ran his hand through my hair "I know that, but I need to go" I quickly lifted my head and looked at him in the eyes "Then take me with you! I lived one year thinking that you died and now you're going to leave us again?" I examined his facial expression, it showed sadness, happiness, and love. That wasn't the only thing I noticed, like Uncle Mu he had a big scar that ran diagonally across his face.

My dad bent down and stared me straight in my eyes, he reached around his neck and pulled out a necklace and grabbed my hand and placed it in my hand "Take good care of this" I shook my head "No!" I watched his hand come up and rest on my cheek "I promise we will meet again" I shook my head "Please don't leave me" I whispered to him but he simply shook his head "Just make sure everyone is doing alright, okay?"

I tilted my head to the side "Can I tell?" he shook his head "It's our little secret" I nodded and whispered the words "I love you" he smiled "I love you too" before he straightened himself out and gave me one more embrace before he backed off slowly, I watched him smile at me before he vanished as if he was never there; as if everything I experienced was all just a dream. I closed my eyes as a gust of wind passed through the cemetery; I slowly opened my eyes and examined the area to make sure I was totally alone. After confirming I wiped my eyes and walked towards the entrance, where I was greeted by my escort "Ms. Yamato your mother wants you home right now" I frowned "Sorry" I entered the car and I was quickly driven to the terminal where I boarded my shuttle and was brought back to PLANTS.


	2. Chapter 2: A Secret Unveiled

When I got home it was already 5:30pm, I walked up the steps and pushed open the door. "I'm home!" I yelled kicking off my shoes, I walked over to the closet and hung up my jacket; hearing that no one replied I walked into the kitchen and saw my mom, and Abby setting up for dinner so I decided to help out. "Where's Kenny?" I said placing the plates on the table "He's at his friend's house" my sister said relaxing on one of the chairs. I walked to sister and pulled her off the chair "We still have things to do before we can sit down" Abby frowned at me but got right back to helping mom out. When we finished setting up the table my mom decided to ask me a question that made me freeze in my tracks "Why did you take so long to return?" I froze trying to find the words to say "She ran into her boyfriend" Abby said grinning, I turned towards Abby and yelled "I do not have a boyfriend!" a giggle soon followed suit, causing me to sigh "I - I ran into Stacy?"

I tried my best to hide my lie, I never was good at lying and I was sure that my sister and mom picked up on my lie. "Why was she down in Orb?" I froze "_She found out_" my mind said, but I quickly shook it off "S - She probably went shopping?" I stared at my mom waiting for a response but all she said was "Mhm" that's when I knew that she knew that I was lying. I was scared that she would want to know what I was up to, but luckily she didn't bother to ask. "Abby can you call Kenneth, and tell him to come home for dinner?" Abby nodded "Okay" and my sister walked towards the phone to give him a call. Before we knew it Abby had already made her way back to the kitchen "Well?" said my mom, I turned towards my sister and stared; she smiled and said "He's coming home now" my mom and I nodded, and we went on preparing dinner.

Sure enough Kenneth did come home, all through the hallway you could hear him rushing to get to the kitchen, my eyes stayed fixed on the doorframe that kept the kitchen separate from the living room, and soon he appeared breathing heavy. "Sorry that I'm late" my eyes followed him as he made his way back into his usual spot and starting eating as if nothing ever happened. I stared at him for a while, before sighing "Wow no 'Hi' to your sisters? We see how it is" Abby giggled slightly. Kenny swallowed his food before muttering a sentence to me "Oh how disrespectful of me, Welcome to the Yamato dining table little Ehem" I got up from my seat and walked towards him, before punching on the arm; I smiled before walking back to my seat.

"You know I'm older, please respect that" I said staring at him, he smirked "So what age doesn't matter" I frowned"Yes it does" he stared at me with amusement in his eyes "Tell me when does it matter?" I thought for a second "In school it matters" he smiled at me "You and I are in the same grade Em, have you forgotten that?" I stood up from my seat "Only because Daddy put you up one grade" We probably would argue a little bit more but Mom thankfully stopped us from going overboard, we quickly apologized and continued eating.

When the three of us finished up eating, we decided to stick around just to talk like we usually did; Mom decided to ask Kenneth and I the 'what are you guys going to be when you grow up' question. Kenny's response was "I am the "heir" to the OS project that Dad was working on, and the people down there said I can take hold after I finish University if I so please" my mom frowned and turned towards me "I'll probably become a Politician, I might want to try to keep "Chairwoman or Chairman" under the Yamato name for as long as I can" She frowned turned right around before she got up and cleared the table.

"Why did you frown at both of our answers?" I asked staring at her, Ken and myself watched her silently clean the table "I frowned because it seems to me like you two only want to pursue those careers because of your father and I" she said quietly. I shook my head "We want to because we want to make you and dad proud" my mom only smiled. Abby had already left the table, so I turned towards Kenny; he was staring back at me his arms crossed and his head move side to side before it settled down, he mouthed the words "Suck up" before smiling at me. I brushed off that comment and stuck my tongue out at him. "Do you guys have homework?" asked my mom as she cleaned the plates. Kenny and I said in unison "Yup" my mom turned her head and said "Well then go do it" we nodded and started walking out the kitchen, Kenny and I walked up the stairs before he turned towards me, he whispered "It's almost Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary" "_I totally forgot Dad!"_ I said to myself, I nodded and said "What are we going to do?" he shrugged "We'll see on the day" we both nodded before we went off to our rooms.

I woke up the next day tired as usual, luckily it was Saturday, so I got to do a lot of extra sleeping. But when I did decide to get out of bed, I slowly made my way to my bathroom where I stared at my ugly morning face; I then walked out of my room and headed towards Abby's room to wake her up. Slowly I made her way to her bedside where I started to nudge her "Abby wake up" I said groggily, she slowly opened her eyes "hm?" I didn't know why I woke up early nor why I decided to wake Abby up early but that didn't really register in my brain "Wake up" I said again, she nodded and rolled over to her side. I sighed got up from her bed and walked back to my room to get changed.

When I finished changing I walked downstairs where as usual I was the last one at the dining table "Good morning" I took my usual place and started eating. I lifted my head and saw Kenny stuffing his face with food "You shouldn't eat everything in one go" Kenny grunted "You're one to talk" Abby giggled and we continued eating. When I finished eating I turned towards mom "Hey mom can we head over to your work today?" She looked at me with confusion written on her face "If your brother and sister want to come then sure" I smiled and turned towards Kenny "I don't mind going" I turned towards Abby she smiled "Sure I'll go, haven't seen Miss Meyrin in a while"

I clapped my hands "Then it's settled! We are coming along!" I heard a sigh "Don't cause troubles" I nodded "Abby and I will keep Kenny under control" I said jokingly a giggle filled the air as Abby tried her hardest to contain her laughter, I smiled. Kenny muttered a phrase that I didn't quite hear, but to be honest I don't think I would ever want to know what he said. We all chatted a little more until everyone at the dining table finished eating their breakfast, we all then got up and headed towards the car and started heading to Mom's work.

But then came the thing that we as a family dreaded the most, which was who would be the one to drive. Kenny and I would always argue so Dad would drive most of the time, but we eventually settled on the two of us alternating in the driver's seat and sadly today it was Kenny's turn to drive, and if you have ever witnessed his driving… Let's just say you'll be here faster than you could say "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

When we got to the conference building, we all hopped out of the car. I stretched and did a little jump around before we started our walk. Once we made it inside, I scanned the area of a familiar figure (My dad) not seeing him I sighed. "Em you okay?" Abby said looking at me, I smiled "Of course I am Abby". We all walked to the elevators that led up to the inner circle. We waited in elevator for some time until it finally came to a stop. I immediately ran out towards the middle and started twirling as I awed at the amazing architecture "Wow!" I yelled, after I stopped admiring the amazingness of the inner circle I made it back to my family. "Dad never took me through the inner circle before"

I looked at my brother and sister and saw their stares trail off somewhere, I followed their stares and my eyes eventually fell onto my Mom. Her stares looked across the place; a frowned was etched onto her always smiling face. "It's almost our wedding Anniversary Kira" she said very quietly, Kenny, Abby, and I knew the significance of the inner circle to our Dad and Mom. I opened my mouth to speak but immediately stopped when I saw a single tear trickle down her cheek. I grabbed her hand and gave it a slight tug "Come on you'll be late" she wiped away the tear with her free hand before nodding "You're right let's get going" and with that we quickly made our way out of the inner circle.

We stood in front of the doors like we did many times before, to my right was my father's office; untouched since that day. I approached the door and hesitantly placed my hand on the door knob. "Emily what are you doing?" my mom asked, I thought for a second "I want to see if birdy is still there" I slowly turned the knob, opening it wide enough so that anything could fly out and as I thought birdy quickly flew out and started circling the three of us. We watched it fly over the tops of our heads, I held out my hands and the metal bird landed on them "Must have been boring staying in that room for one year" I said smiling. "Birdy!" it replied back. It turned its head towards me, I smiled "Fly over to Abby, she missed you too" the bird quickly took off it circled Abby before finally landing on her head "I missed you too" she giggled. All three of us turned towards the door "Ken go open the door" I said to him, he grunted "Did you cut your hand or something?" I shook my head "be a gentlemen and open the door for us ladies" he grunted again before he pushed the doors open.

"Welcome back kiddies" said a now aged Mu La Flaga, and as usual he sat in his regular spot. I smiled and suddenly a rush of air ran past my ear, I knew it was Abby… My eyes followed as she gave Auntie Meyrin a hug like she always does "Hi Auntie!" she smiled back "Why hello". "Birdy!" the bird flew to Abby and sat down on her head.

I turned to see where Kenny walked off to, and surely enough I saw him over with Mikey, I smiled and walked towards them to join in on the conversation. Mikey is the child of Uncle Mu and Auntie Murrue; he is the same age as Abby and their both in the same class. Mikey made a promise to my dad that he would take care of Abby when they're at school and due to that promise Mikey and Abby treat each other like brother and sister.

"Hi Mikey" the boy raised his hand up and I gave him a 'high 5' "How's it going?" he said to me, I smiled "I'm good" To be honest I always thought that Mikey was a better brother figure to me despite him being younger. Eventually the three of us started to chat about stuff, before Abby and birdy decided to join us. "Hi Mikey!" Abby said causing Mikey to smile "Hey Abby" He returned the kind gesture "Is Issy here?" he shook his head "She went to her friend's house" Abby frowned "Aww…Anyways what are you guys talking about?" we took the liberty to give her a summary before the four of us continued with the conversation.

"I hear Emily's around" said a voice coming from the entrance of the room, I sighed "You guys know that to do" Kenny and Mikey nodded at each other before they walked towards the person, Kenny punched the man square in the face causing him to fall onto the floor; Mikey and Kenny quickly grabbed him by the arms and dragged him out of the room before closing the door behind them. I smiled "Thank you" the two boys smiled before showing a thumbs up. "You guys need to stop doing that to him" said a voice from behind, I sighed "Uncle your lieutenant has been harassing me, so we decided that we would do that to him" I said frankly. Mikey nodded "Yeah dad that guy is pretty annoying" his father just sighed and he relaxed in his chair. I watched Kenny's eyes dart to Abby who had an uneasy feeling, he smiled and walked towards her, he placed a hand on her head "Don't need to worry, if he was doing that to you then I would do the same thing" She only smiled and embraced Kenny, he smiled and returned the gesture.

To be honest I never knew what was up with Abby bring so close to Ken.. Maybe because Kenneth was the closest thing to dad as she could get, she was very attached to dad even before his 'death' she was always talking and playing around dad. She was probably more attached to him than I ever was; Kenny noticed this a few months after what happened on that day and he decided on his own to provide the love and care that dad gave to Abby which in my mind is very sweet. After the two pulled away from the embrace I walked over to kenneth "How are you feeling?" he smiled at me "Never felt better" Everyone let out a chuckle before everything and everyone in the boardroom turned back to normal and that's when I continued my hunt to see if father actually around the building.

I spent most of my time looking around the boardroom because it was huge, I checked every corner on all sides of the room sighing I walked over to the door and pulled it open. On the other side were ZAFT soldiers I smiled "Good day" I was about to proceed onwards before I was stopped "Sorry Ms. Yamato, you cannot leave this room" I looked at them puzzled "Why not?" said from behind a voice could be heard "Yeah, why not?" I turned and saw the whole board walk towards the entrance "An intruder has entered the building" soon an alarm went off and everyone rushed back to the table, Uncle Mu yelled "Meyrin give me a visual please" in a few seconds we could all see what was happening. That's when I noticed him, he wore what my dad wore when I first saw him; my eyes widened "That's dad!" I whispered to myself, "Have that area on lockdown" Uncle Mu said. I turned to him in panic "No don't" I yelled gunning for the door "Why not!?" he yelled back, I pushed away the ZAFT men guarding the door and yelled back "Its dad!"

From behind I heard a soft whisper "Kira?" I closed my eyes and kept running as I tried to push that voice away. I knew it was my mother who said my dad's name, I do regret saying it was dad but I couldn't let this one moment slide through my fingers; whether or not mom cried at that moment I'll never know and plus there was no turning back… My goal now was to make sure they didn't hurt my dad. "Daddy I'm coming!" I said racing for him.


	3. Chapter 3: Daughter's Pursuit

I ran as fast as I could, my friends and family knew that I wasn't the running type; but at this point of time that didn't matter to me. What did matter to me though was that I made sure that no one brought the hurt on the one I loved. I rounded the corner and heard "So this is how you greet your unwanted guests huh?" my eyes widened "_Don't hurt him_" my mind said as I ran faster towards him. With every step I took, the louder the commotion became when I finally reached where I heard my father's voice from. I saw what no child should ever see, I saw guns pointed at him as the ZAFT soldiers barked at my dad; but my dad didn't listen to them the expression on his face showed that he was ready if they did fire on him.

"Stand down!" I yelled as I tried to push through the cloister of ZAFT soldiers that barricaded the halls. "Ms. Yamato! The council won't allow us to let anyone through" yelled one of the ZAFT soldiers that held me by my arm preventing me to go through "Let go!" I yelled. He just shook his head. "You shouldn't place your hand on such a pretty lady" I turned my head and saw my dad walking closer towards the barricade of ZAFT soldiers. "Stay back!" yelled a soldier that pointed his gun at him, my eyes quivered "Don't shoot him!" I yelled as I struggled to get out of the grip that held onto my arm. I watched my dad walk closer, he took small steps "What are you going to do? Shoot me" he said teasingly. He moved his hand to his side and flashed a gun in a holster, everyone around me immediately raised their guns. Soon everyone started yelling at him to put his weapon down.

One of the soldiers shot the ground in front of my dad as they tried to stop him from advancing forward "No!" I screamed as I started struggling a bit more. "Please don't hurt him!" I cried as I stared back my dad with my tear stricken face. "Seems that you missed the shot" my dad said. "I won't miss again" said one soldier who raised his gun at my dad. "No! Don't shoot him!" but before I knew it he had already fired. I stared at the gun whose barrel was still smoking from the shots he fired, I turned my head and saw my dad on one knee as he tired to fight off the pain that he had endured. I watched a person fire shots at my dad, I'm now watching my dad deal with the pain of being shot, and I was helpless. Tears fell down my cheeks, it was the same feeling I had before I lost my dad one year ago but instead now I am forced to watch him suffer. All I was able to do was cry "No!" I said quietly. "Move in" said one of the voices and soon everyone started to move in. I turned to the person who was still holding onto my wrist and bit his hand causing him to let go.

I immediately ran towards dad pushing everyone away so that I was the first one to make it to him. I knelt down beside him as I embraced his head "Stay away from him and me or you'll be dealing with my mother!" I yelled, I didn't care about the consequences on helping an 'intruder' but that didn't matter to me. "Ms. Yamato please step away" said a soldier quietly, I shook my head "You step away" I said. I was never the person to give attitude, especially in front of dad. Soon they stopped their advance and I was finally able to focus on my dad. "Daddy?" I said quietly my voice still recovering from the crying "Where did he hurt you" He stared at me "upper body, and left arm" I looked at his wounds and saw that the were much worse than I thought "We need to get you to a doctor" I said, he simply shook his head "Don't worry about me sweetheart" he slowly stood up, I grabbed onto his sleeve "No, don't move yet" sadly my dad's stubbornness got the best of him.

"Seems you failed to kill me" my dad said finding his footing again, he suddenly grabbed onto my waist and whispered "I'll be hiding out at our special place by the cliff" I nodded as I tried to recall our 'special' spot by the cliffside. "Ma'am Yamato please step away!" yelled a soldier as he grabbed onto my wrist, my attention turned to my wrist as I tried to register everything. Before I knew it my dad had grabbed him by the neck "Let go" dad said his facial expression was on to be feared. Everything happened so fast, soon soldiers came charging in bunches as they tried to strike dad and one by one my dad put them all onto the floor. All I could do was watch, the dad I knew who was kind, and caring; now filled with anger and out of all things he was attacking.

Once my dad finished putting the last ZAFT soldier onto the floor he smirked and turned towards the exit "You call yourselves soldiers" he walked past me not saying one word. I knew he was mad and was in his little bubble of anger, so I didn't bother muttering a word to him while he passed. The hallway was dead silent the only sound that could be heard was the groaning of men and the steps of the person who put them to the floor; my dad. "What happened to you?" I said, I was sure that dad had heard me because I saw him do a small wave to me without looking back. Not only had I revealed that he was dad and that he was alive, I knew that in the boardroom they saw everything that transpired in this hallway. From my dad being shot, to him putting everyone who touched him or me to the floor. His personality had changed too, and I knew all too well that the Council would agree with me.

What I worried most about was Abby, Mom, and Ken. What would they be thinking right now? I'm sure that Abby would be balling her eyes out right now, Mom might be going through the motions now knowing that my dad had changed. Finally Ken, he is probably feeling disgusted right now. Whether they reacted positively or negatively I don't want to know… Let alone hear the rant that Uncle Mu would give me for running into an area under lockdown. Not knowing what to do, I did what first came to mind which was run. I ran out the doors and as fast as I could back home, I didn't know how long dad would be staying at our secret hiding spot but one things for sure. I will go see him, I knew I wouldn't be able to see him today so I planned ahead; I planned for tomorrow.

The night was painful; I stayed on my bed hugging my pillow, luckily I had prepared what I was going to eat for dinner before everyone got home so I ended up eating in my room. I made sure to lock my door so that no one could enter my room, and for extra security I turned on the 'anti-breakthrough' lock dad had implemented on every door just in case someone were to break in into our home. It wasn't no ordinary lock either, it was an OS script that can only be triggered when the person inside activates it and the good thing is that it cannot be deactivated from the outside; it can only be deactivated by the person who triggered the activation. But all this didn't protect me from getting pounding on my door. "Emily Yamato open the door!" yelled Uncle Mu from the other side, I sighed "No it's okay" I said not wanting to hear Uncle Mu give me the talking of a lifetime.

Uncle Mu kept on trying to get me to open the door, but I simply just said "No". He probably got fed up and to see the others. "Yo Em? Let me in?" said Kenny. I lifted my head "Did you bring the unwanted?" I asked not wanting to take the chance. "No I didn't tag along with the 'Council'" he said reassuring me. I nodded and undid the lock and pulled him in quickly before closing the door and reactivating the locks. I sat back down onto my bed while Ken took his seat on a chair that faced me. "Was the person we saw today actually dad?" he said staring at me, I nodded "I know its him" he only nodded before we went silent. "What are you going to do Em?" he said crossing his arms "I'm going to see dad tomorrow at our secret hiding place down by the cliff, but don't tell the others though" I said pleading him to not give away my plans, he nodded "But knowing Uncle he is probably not going to believe that dad is alive, so maybe the best course of action is to get mom to see dad in person" I nodded in affirmation "You're going to help me out?" he smiled and nodded "I'll cover you for as long as it takes" We both smiled.

**The Next Morning**

I woke up the next morning determined to see dad, I immediately packed my backpack with everything I thought I needed. I even had my clothes ready, because I knew that I would need to leave as soon as I got the go ahead from Ken. I got dressed and sat on my bed, suddenly my phone vibrated I picked it up and looked at the text it read "You ready?" I texted back "I'm ready to move" I waited for Ken's signal soon he texted back "Everyone left, I'll watch your back as you leave". I stood up and slowly opened the door I saw Ken signaling me to hurry up which I did. I gave him a hi-5 before I walked out the front door "If I were you I'd get dad to show either today or tomorrow, the sooner the better" I nodded at him before I started my trek to the cliffside.

I casually made my over to the cliff as I took in my surroundings, It was a nice beautiful day the sun was out and everyone was walking around. I came to a park bench and sat down, I pulled out a sandwich from my bad and started eating. I smiled when a bird came and landed in front of me, I tossed it a piece of the crust as a fond memory came to mind.

"_Daddy look!" I said running towards a group of birds that took off at the sight of me. "They look like birdy!" I said as I giggled and tried to chase after the birds at the park. After seeing that the birds didn't want to play with me I turned back to dad and with a frown etched on my face I walked back to him sat on his lap and crossed my tiny arms. "What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked. "The birds don't want to play with me" I said frowning even harder. "Well at home we have birdy who loves to play with you" he said wrapping his arms around me. "Ready to go home?" He asked. I shook my head, he smiled and stood up holding me in his arms, I rested my head onto his shoulder as I smiled "You've gotten heavy" He grabbed onto the baby stroller that was in front of us and checked if Abby was still asleep. "Alright it's time to go, Abby will be asking for food soon" he said as he started to push the stroller, I rested my chin onto his shoulder and smiled at the birds "Bye Birds!" I yelled waving at them, dad smiled and kissed my cheek "Oh Emily" he said as we started our walk home._

I smiled and threw the leftover crust to the bird before I got back up and continued my trek to the cliff. Before I knew it the sun had started to go down when I finally made it to the cliff, I had forgotten how far it was from home. Most importantly I didn't know if mom would send a search party for me because I've been out of the house for so long, but all I could do was trust that Kenny had me covered. I looked around the cliff that overlooked a big body of water as I wondered how I used to get down to the side of the cliff. I spent a few minutes looking around before I saw the faded pathway way that led down to the side. I followed the path until it came to an opening into the side of the cliff, I carefully walked inside and thats when I saw dad on the floor with his jacket covering his body. He was asleep but he must have felt someone nearby because he slowly opened his eyes, rubbing one eye he blinked a couple times before he smiled "Hey" his voice was very weak, then I saw the bandage that wrapped his upper body. All I did was smile "Hey daddy" I said as I made my way to him.


	4. Chapter 4: The Roadblock

Chapter 4

Once I made my way to dad I knelt down next to him, I removed my bag from my back and placed it to the side of me "Here I brought you something to eat" I took out another sandwich from my bag and gave it to dad. "How are your wounds?" I asked as I surveyed the damage done "And most importantly we need to see a doctor". I looked up at dad and saw him shake his head at me "No, I'm fine Emily". I frowned at dad how could he be okay when he was shot yesterday? "I'm not going to take no for an answer, I came all this way just to get you" I took a deep breathe "Tomorrow is your wedding anniversary with mom too, and I don't want her to suffer anymore daddy" I tears rolled down my cheeks as I tried to keep myself from crying, I saw a hand rise up to my face as dad brushed away the tears "If that's the case then what should I get your mom then?" he said smiling at me.

"I think you being back will do just fine" I said returning the smile, I inched closer to dad "Now take off the bandages we need to clean your wounds" I said as I pulled out a small first aid kit from my bag. "What exactly did you bring?" my dad said looking up at me, I only smiled "Sit up please" When dad sat up he undid the bandages that covered the upper half of his body, I gasped with how messy the wounds were "Don't worry sweetheart I took out the bullets thats why it looks kind of strange" I only nodded and proceeded to clean up the wounds. I was surprised at how many cuts dad had on his body, maybe most of them were from that day one year ago but I didn't bother to ask because I knew that dad had already been through a lot so I didn't see the point in asking.

Once I finished, dad rewrapped the bandages before he laid right back down onto the floor "Did you eat already?" He asked as he watched me put back the things into my bag. "I brought food for the both of us" I said as I pulled out two containers of food "Here" I said as I passed him the container and a spoon and fork I kept in the bag. He took it in his hands and smiled at me "Thank you sweetheart" he said to me, causing me to smile. I grabbed my container and sat next to him, and started eating dinner. It was rather quiet while we ate, neither dad nor I broke the silence while we ate; when we finished we put the containers aside as we looked out and watched the sunset.

"Hey dad?" I said, he turned to me "Yes?" I stared at him straight in the eyes "Why did you wait so long?" He shrugged "That is a secret my love". "Daddy" I said putting on my trademark 'Get whatever I want' face. He smiled "I had to find my own path first" He got up and walked to the opening of the cave and sat on the ledge. I stared at him "Own path? What did he does he mean?" I thought to myself "What path was that? Did it involve injuring those ZAFT soldiers earlier today?" I slowly approached him and sat down next to him "Hey dad" I said quietly. "Beautiful sunset isn't it?" he said. "Why did you do that to those soldiers earlier today?" I said sitting down next to him. I stared at him for a moment, he turned towards me and placed his arm around my shoulder, he pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. "You know why I did it, it was a promise I made to you remember?" he said to me letting go.

"I don't remember that promise you know" I said frankly. He smiled "I know you don't remember , it was a promise I made to myself". Of course it would be a 'father' promise to make, 'To always protect their baby, no matter what'. I frowned "That didn't mean you had to do what you did you know" he nodded "I was just doing what any father would do" he leaned back "Besides when you are going to go home? It's getting pretty late" he asked me. I smiled awkwardly "I may have sunk out of the house just to get here, Uncle Mu is probably pretty mad right now. I don't think I'll be able to go home until tomorrow morning" Dad stared at me, he looked like he was thinking we sat in complete silence as he stared at me intensely "You're in a sticky situation right aren't you? Well not matter I guess you'll be staying here tonight" A night with dad huh? At least it couldn't get any worse, I could be getting a lecture from the Council. Hopefully tomorrow will go better than today… right?

The next morning

The next morning I woke up wrapped in the jacket dad wore, the firepit looked like it was extinguished early in the morning. I rubbed one eye as I sat up, I looked around and saw no sign of dad. I slowly got up and reached for my bag and I grabbed a hidden sandwich and ate it. I walked to the mouth of the cave and looked out at the stunning view that laid before my eyes. "Morning!" yelled a voice, I looked down and saw dad waving up at me. I smiled and waved back "Morning!". I sat down and watched dad make his way towards me, he climbed up the cliff and sat down next to me. "Today's your wedding anniversary dad" I said looking at him, he sighed "I'm happy that you care that much" he placed his hand on my head and smiled.

"Are you nervous?" I asked, he nodded "Of course I am, but that is only natural" dad stood up and stretched his arms out "When do you want to go home?" he asked me, I shrugged "We're going home together" dad smiled "I guess we are aren't we" I got up and grabbed my bag "It's already 8, they should all be at the building by now" I turned back and saw dad staring at me "What is it?" I asked, he shook his head "I'm just waiting" he said frankly. "Well you can't go like that" I said pointing out his attire "We've got to clean you up a bit" Dad frowned "I jumped into the ocean for a swim, I think I'll be fine dear" I only sighed "I guess that'll work"

"Shall we get going?" he asked me, I smiled "Of course" I replied and the two of us walked out of the cave and proceeded to walk towards the Council building. As we walked we started the catch up on everything that he missed, especially what Mom had to endure during his absence. "Hey dad? How did you make it out?" I asked him. He shrugged "I didn't make it out in one piece though" he said.

After I saw off the shuttle I ran back inside, "Commander we've got to get going!" one of my officers said, I nodded "This place is caving in we might not have enough time! Grab everyone that are still left in the building try to pull them out of here too" I yelled as we all ran towards the exit. On the way out I grabbed 2 wounded Orb soldiers and pulled them out of the building "There's still a few left in there! I'm going back in!" I yelled. One of my officers grabbed onto my sleeve "You won't make it out in time!" I pulled my sleeve from his grasp and ran back inside.

I heard a loud scream and a ran to where I heard it, I saw one Orb soldier trying to lift a fallen support of his comrade I ran in "Hurry!" I yelled as I grabbed hold of the support the two of us lifted the support the tossed it to the side as we both grabbed the down soldier. Soon the three of us started to run towards the exit "Quickly!" I yelled, a sound of a hiss started to grow I pushed the soldiers out of the building just before a mortar landed right where they stood.

The explosion went off sending me flying into a structural support, the pillar fell on top of me pinning me to the floor as more of the building started to fall all around me. A loud ringing fell into my ears, and the smoke soon found my way into my lungs. My sight dimmed as I looked out at the soldiers who looked like they were yelling my name, I closed my eyes "I'm sorry, daddy has to break his promise this one time" the last thing I saw was the building falling to the ground. "This is it? This is how it ends huh"

"When they finally got the building under control, they found me and pulled me out. I was barely alive, I broke my rib, arm, and leg; A few months ago I finally healed actually, but I'm left with this scar though" Dad said rubbing his head. "But how come Auntie Cagalli or the others know that you were still alive?" I said as a lot of questions were left unanswered. "That my dear is a secret I have to withhold" He said giving a stress easing smile. Soon the building came into the view and surrounding the building were a line of ZAFT soldiers "Well what do we have here? I didn't know you were leading me into a trap dear" He said jokingly. "Dad I think we should hide" I said scared that they may shoot at us ruining something that I've only had weeks to plan.

My dad chuckled "Don't worry, they want me right? Might as well give them what they want" I immediately shook my head "No dad" but it was too late dad had already started to venture towards them, all I could do was follow. "Hey guys!" dad said smiling. I grabbed onto dad's arm "Stand down please" I ordered but my cry wasn't heard as they all raised their arms. "I'm surprised that you guys don't know who I am yet" Dad said frankly. "We have orders to secure the building, call the Council tell them the target is here" the officer nodded and went inside to notice the Council. Dad smiled "Uncle Mu is still on edge isn't he?" looking at me. I frowned "I didn't want you to meet Mom like this" my dad smiled and patted my head "Life always finds the hard ways to get things done".

Dad and I waited in front of the building, Dad was in a deadlock with the ZAFT soldiers, he was obviously wanting to fight them but I held onto his arm to make sure he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. "Man!" Dad said impatiently "I'm going inside" he said approaching the soldiers, I pulled on dad's arm "No sorry! You're not going anywhere dad" he pulled his arm from my grip as he started to walk closer towards the men guarding the building. "Stay there Em, things might get hairy" dad said not once looking back at me. What about his wounds? I knew they haven't healed yet and I didn't want him to go and do something reckless again. I quickly shook off dads remark and I ran up to him grabbing onto his sleeve once again "Dad you're still hurt" I said quietly.

Dad stopped and sighed "Yeah, maybe you're right" Soon ZAFT soldiers started approaching us "They're after me right? I guess I should turn myself in" Dad said looking at me, I shook my head "No we're so close, you're suppose to see Mom again" I said pleadingly. He placed his hand on my head "I know, but not all things can come true right? I mean I'm privileged to still be alive, and I got to spend time with you. Maybe seeing your Mom today isn't in the cards right now" Dad flashed a reassuring smile, all I could do was frown. We both came so far and the only thing that was holding us both back were the ZAFT soldiers that threatened to rain on our parade. What were we going to do? For all we knew we didn't have much time with the ZAFT soldiers slowly approaching us.


	5. Chapter 5: Accepting Truth

**Chapter 5**

As the ZAFT soldiers slowly approached, I saw dad reach behind his jacket as if he was reaching for something. "Stay where you are, please hand over Ms. Yamato" said a soldier. I turned to dad and saw that he was staring at me, he motioned with his head saying 'go with them' I shook my head. He sighed and used his other hand to start pushing towards the group "Here take her but don't hurt her" dad said willingly.

The soldier reached out for my arm but I quickly pulled away and pushed myself away even with dad pushing me from behind. "Please sweetheart do it for daddy" dad said now using two hands to push me. "No!" I said quietly, he stopped and leaned forward giving me a hug from behind; he kissed the top of my head saying "Sorry" before he gave me a big push launching me to the ZAFT soldiers who waited for my return.

"Ms. Yamato is now secured, close in on the target" said the soldier and soon, they all started to close in on dad. "No!" I yelled as I tried to shake myself away from the soldier that held my away from the action. As I struggled to get out of his grasp, I watched helplessly as they all started to attack them and one by one they all were put to the floor by dad. His eyes were dark, it was the same shade like it was the last time they tried to attack him but this time it was darker.

Dad reached behind his back and pulled out an extendable staff as he used it to aid him and his battle. 1 verus a good fifty plus ZAFT soldiers. I screamed at the top of my lungs hoping that someone would come and stop that madness that they were putting dad through, him hurting people, him having that menacing look on his face, him showing disgust at what was transpiring.

Dad looked over at me when he heard my cry, he turned to anger as his attack became more violent and reckless. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I dropped to my knees "Daddy, no!" I yelled. "Emily!" yelled a voice that sounded like it came from behind. I turned my head and saw Mom, Abby, Ken, and the rest of the council come running out of the building; I turned back at dad and saw him put one of the last ZAFT soldiers onto the floor. He lifted his head and saw everyone, I saw him smile just just a little before he started to walk in the opposite direction.

"Emily are you-" I quickly got up and started running "Why did you do this!?" I yelled as I tried to catch up to dad. "Emily wait!" said a voice, but I didn't stop nor did I care, what mattered to me was that I caught up with dad. I didn't know why but it felt that dad was walking pretty fast because when I got to him, he stood standing at the cliffside as he looked out over the horizon like he did that few days before.

"Dad why did you run away?" I asked as I approached him from behind. He stood silent for sometime before he muttered the phrase "I don't know". I frowned "You're not being honest with yourself" I said now standing beside him. He turned to me and smiled "I know" he said as he placed his hand on the top of my head. "So you'll be coming back home right?" I asked. He shook his head "I'm sorry, but I can't sweetheart". "Why not!" I yelled furious with his absurd answer. He frowned "You know wh-" not wanting to hear his response I decided to cut him off "You put us all through pain and suffering, today you came back and what do you do?! You run away wanting everyone and everything to disappear!"

I took a deep breathe in and exhaled "What the point of having a family, or friends if you can't be there for them!" I cried as I finally allowed the tears gathering in my eyes to fall from them. "What about all the promises we made? Remember you promised to be there for me! But that never happened! And now you're going to leave?! I hate you!" I said screaming at the top of my lungs as I let out every emotion I had left in my body.

As I sat there screaming and crying my heart out, dad just watched in misery. I never thought I would say the words "I hate you" to him before, never did I think that I would come to saying those harsh words to my dad. Soon the ground started to rumble, loud sounds started to come from behind. I turned my head to see what was coming our way and my eyes widened, what I saw where heavily armoured vehicles, and ZAFT soldiers. Their weapons were drawn, they were locked on my my father.

I immediately scrambled to my knees as I stood in front of my dad, my back was facing him and I held my arms out hoping they would stop before they ran us off the cliff. "You've been causing us a lot of trouble" said a ZAFT soldier said approaching, "Surprise" dad said sarcastically. "Don't fire!" I said angrily at the men standing in front of us, they all shook their heads "Please step away" they said, I furiously shook my head "No!" they didn't take no for an answer because they slowly started coming closer.

Panicking I looked up at dad "What are we going to do?" I said. He smiled at me "Don't worry they're almost here" dad said calmly, one thing I always liked about dad was that he was always calm when he was in a sticky situation. "Who?" I said questioning his response. He raised his finger and pointed behind the wall of armoured vehicles, I squinted wondering what he was pointing at then I saw mom and the council running towards us as fast as they could. "stand down!" Uncle Mu yelled as he got to the front of all the vehicles, "Kira?" Mom said looking at him, I pointed my head up to see dad's reaction he was smiling "Happy anniversary" he said, he slowly inched himself closer to the edge "Dad what are you doing?" I said as I tugged onto his hand, "Wait" he said as he ran down the side of the cliff. "You all can go back now, Commander Yamato isn't a threat" Auntie Cagalli said shooing everyone away.

I smiled and walked back to my people, and Mom gave me the biggest hug ever. She squeezed me tight saying softly "Thank you". I smiled and gave her a hug too. "Okay!" dad said coming back up, in his hand he was holding a bouquet of roses and a little box, he walked up to mom and gave her the gifts "This is for you" he said smiling. Overwhelmed with emotion Mom immediately ran into Dad's arms as she cried softly. Everyone did the same; and by everyone I meant Mom, Issy, Auntie Cagalli, and myself. The boys stayed out of the embrace but they smiled to make up for it. "Dad you smell funny" Issy said causing Dad to chuckle "Thank you sweetheart, would you like to go home?" he asked and immediately Mom answered "Yes, we're going home this time" Dad kissed the top of her head before nodding in approval. "We have to get you caught up to speed" Ken said looking at dad as we all started walking, "I'm already caught up on the universal affairs, but I would like to get caught up with our family. Is that okay with you guys?" dad said to us all, I nodded and squeezed tighter "Of course". "What you should do is make up all the lost time you've missed with me" Mom said annoyed, dad smiled "I know". We walked back towards the building. Dad stopped and smiled "It's good to be home", We all smiled "It sure is" before we all walked back inside.

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**AHA! I did it guise! Chapter 5 is out, that means this is the second last chapter! Sorry it took me so long to complete it, but hey better late then never!**


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